Method to cool the interior of a seamless block of setting concrete



H. SORENSEN Nov. 29, 1932'.-

METHOD TO COOL THE INTERIOR OF A SEAMLESS BLOCK OF SETTING CONCRETEFiled Oct. 5, 1931 INVENTOR lators for the flow of air.

Patented Nov. 29, 1932.

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HENRY SORENSEN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA METHOD TO COOL THE INTERIOROF A SEAMLESS BLOCK F SETTING CONCRETE Application filed October 5,1931. Serial No. 566,9?1.

In concrete structures, which contain large blocks of concrete, aformidable heat is cre ated in the concrete, during its setting process,whichis detrimental to the structure.

My invention consists of a simple and effective way in which tocounteract those destructive heat forces by means of cooling air, andwhile my invention may equally well be used for other concretestructures,.I have 0 described it, in the following specification andthe accompanying drawing, as a concrete dam cooling system.

In the drawing of a concrete block of a dam, which is erected inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a concrete block illustrating theprinciples of my invention.

Fig. 4 is the enlargement of a plan view of the one section of a metalcasing.

Fig. is a side view of Fig. 4.

In the drawing, where similar numerals designate similar parts, numeral1 designates a concrete block. Numeral 2 designates tunnels. 3designates the concrete. 4 designates air shafts. 5 designates casings.6 are the sides of casings 5. 7 are the ends of casings v5. 8 are platesattachedto ends 7. 9 are staples. 10 are wedges. 11 are hooks. 12are'chains. 13 are snaps. 14 are wooden braces. 15 are wooden wedges. 16are guide lugs. 17 are aircooling devices. 18are regu- Dealing with Fig.l and 21 first cast, at the base of block 1, a series of suitably spacedhorizontally placed tunnels 2, in concrete 3, throughout the width ofblock 1. Inside of tunnels 2, at suitably spaced intervals, I castvertically extending air shafts 4. Each of the tunnels 2 have a seriesof air shafts 4 commencing in the roofs of tunnels 2, so that the air,in air shafts '4, is drawn from tunnels 2. Air shafts 4 open out throughthe top of each part of dam 1, which is being erected. The air shafts 4are cast in concrete 3 by means of casings 5, casings 5 serving as theforms for air sha 5 maybe made of any suitable material, I

Fig. 1 illustrates the fragment of the face.

ly facilitates the draught of the air.

ts 4. l/Vhile casings.

prefer to make casings 5 of thin sheet metal for the reasons which Iwill state below. Casings 5 form a temporary lining for air shafts 4until concrete 3 has set. A

In Fig. 4 and in Fig. 5 I have shown enlarged details of casings 5. Iprefer to give casings 5 an elongated shape, and to make them out ofthin sheet metal 6, in two halves with curved ends 7. To the outside ofends 7, on the one half of casings 5, I attach curved plates 8. Thesecurved plates 8 extend past those ends 7 to which they are attached andthey overlap the ends 7 of the opposed halves of casings 5. I attachstaples 9' to the inside of the extending part of plates 8. Staples 9engage suitable slots in ends 7 of the opposed halves of casings 5.edges 10 are driven into staples 9 and then hold the two of the opposedends 7 together. Inside of casings '5 there are aseries of opposed hooks11. When the two halves of casings 5 are put together, chains 12 arehooked to hooks 11 and tightened by means of snaps 13. Braces 14, bymeans of wedges 15, are then driven between the two halves of casings 5.I prefer tomake 14 and 15 of wood. Although casings 5 are made of thinsheet metal 6, they are now firmly held together, while at the same timebeing braced against outside pressure by means of braces 14. Casings 5arecomposed of sections placed above each other. Guides 16 serve thepurpose of holding thesections of casings 5 in line with each other,when these sections are placed one on the top of the other. Guide lugs16 are attachedto the inside of casings 5.

Thenever desired I place airc'oolingdevice 17 in the entrance tovtunnels 2, whereby I may lower the temperature of the air, which rushesin through the mouths of tunnels 2, due to the draught caused by airshafts 4. The vertical placement of air shafts 4 great There is acontinuous flow of cooling air ascending through air shafts 4.

I may also place regulators 18, at the mouths of tunnels 2, whereby Imay regulate, or divert, the flow of the air,

which is drawn my invention,

in by the chimney draught action of air shafts 4.

It will be understood that spaced walls of cooling air are continuallyplaying up along the inside of block 1, on concrete 3, during thesetting process of concrete 3. The chimney action, of the air shafts 4,draws that cooling air through the mouths of tunnels 2.

It is important that the openings of tunnels 2 are sufficient to allowthe necessary body of air to sweep up the sides of shafts 4, and itisequally important that the area of shafts 4 is also sufiicient to takecare of said body of air. Further :-I'have stated, that tunnels 2 andshafts 4 are suitably spaced, meaning thereby that crete 3, which issituated'between the spaced shafts 4 and spaced tunnels 2, must belimited to a thickness, that will allow the heat, which is generated bythe setting concrete 3, to readily reach shafts 4 and tunnels 2, fromWhere it iscarried away, or absorbed, by the air, that flows fromtunnels 2 upwards through shafts 4.

In the manner, which I have explained, I automatically counteract thedestructive heating forces of the setting concrete 3, by means of theabove referred to cooling walls of continuous flowing air, during theerection of the block 1. 7

Due to the fact that I use thin sheet metal 6, in casings 5, thecoolness of the air will transplant itself to concrete 3, through thesides of casings 5. Water, from above, may

' also be played or sprayed, upon casings 5,

to facilitate the cooling process. The water will drain through tunnels2.

Had I availed myself of the usual method of using lumber for the formsfor air shafts 4, instead of sheet metal 6, as the lining for air shafts4, the heat from the setting concrete 3 would have been prevented fromreaching shafts 4, and very little of the coolness from the air wouldhave reached concrete 3, due to the insulation which the lumher wouldhave created. 1

As block 1 goes up, and the lower layers of concrete 3 become set, thetunnels 2 and the air shafts 4, which have kept those lower parts ofconcrete 3 cool, may be filled with concrete. Before that is done thecasings 5 are easily removed by first extracting wedges and and openingsnaps 13. Those casings 5 may then be used for the erection of the upperlayers of block 1.

The upper series of tunnels 2 and the air shaft formations 4, which arecast into the upper layers of concrete 3, in the same manner aspreviously described, will take care of the cooling process of the upperlayers of concrete '3 in block 1.

In Fig. 3, which illustrates the vertical section of a finished block 1,I have illustrated as it was used during the erection of block 1, and inFig; 3, as well as in the thickness of con- Fig. 1, I have illustratedthe upper tunnels 2 and air shaft formations 4, to which I have madereference above.

Various modifications of structure may be made without departing fromthe spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. In the method of casting a seamless block of concrete of suchsize as would ordinarily crack or become weakened upon setting in theabsence of heat dispelling means therein, comprising providing airintakes in the base of the block, providing vertical air shafts in saidblock in communication with the air intakes and extending therefrom tothe top of the block, positioning said intakes and shafts throughout theblock :at such intervals as will enable heat generated by .setting ofthe concrete to be conducted thereto, and passing a currentof air intosaid intakes and upwardly through said shafts to dispel the generatedheat.

2. In the method of casting .a seamless block of concrete of such sizeas would ordinarily crack or become weakened upon setting in the absenceof heat dispelling means therein, comprising providing air intakes inthe base of the block, providing metal lined vertical air shafts in saidblock in communication with the air intakes and extending therefrom .tothe top of the block, positioning said intakes and shafts throughout theblock at such intervals as will enable heat generated by setting of theconcrete to be conducted thereto, and passing into said intakes andupwardly through said shafts to dispel the generatedheat.

3. In the method of casting a seamless block an air current of concreteof such size as would ordinarily H crack of become weakened upon settingin the absence of heat dispelling means therein, comprising providingair intakes in the base of the block, providing elongated vertical airshafts in said block in communication with the air intakes and extendingtherefrom to the top of the block, positioning said intakes and shaftsthroughout the block at such intervals as will enable heat generated byset ting of the concrete to and upwardly through said shafts to dispelthe generated heat.

4. In the method of casting a seamless block of concrete of such size aswould ordinarily crack or become weakened upon setting in the absence ofheat dispelling means therein, comprising providing air intakes in thebase of the block, providing elongated metal lined vertical air shaftsin said block in communication with the air intakes and extendingtherefrom to the top of the block, positioning said intakes and shaftsthroughout the block at such intervals as will enable heat generated bysetting of the concrete to be conducted thereto, and passing a currentof air be conducted thereto, and passing a current of :air into saldmtakes nication with the air into said intakes and upwardly through saidshafts to dispel the generated heat.

5. In the method of casting a seamless block of concrete of such size aswould ordinarily crack or become weakened upon setting in the absence ofheat dispelling means therein, comprising providing air intakes in thebase of the block, providing elongated vertical air shafts in said blockin communication with the air intakes and extending therefrom to the topof the block, positioning said intakes and shafts throughout the blockat such intervals as will enable heat generated by setting of theconcrete to be conducted thereto, an air cooling device operating insaid air intakes, and passing a current of air into said intakes andupwardly through said shafts to dispel the generated heat.

6. In the method of casting a seamless block of concrete of such size aswould ordinarily crack or become weakened upon setting in the absence ofheat dispelling means therein, comprising providing air intakes in thebase of the block, providing elongated metal lined vertical air shaftsin said block in commutherefrom to the top of the block, positioningsaid intakes and shafts throughout the block at such intervals as willenable heat generated by setting of the concrete to be conductedthereto, an air cooling device operating in said intakes, and passing acurrent of air into said intakes and upwardly through said shafts todispel the generated heat. 7

7 In the method of casting a seamless block of concrete of such size aswould ordinarily crack or become weakened upon setting in the absence ofheat dispelling means therein, comprising providing air intakes in thebase of the block, providing vertical air shafts in said block incommunication with the air intakes and extending therefrom to the top ofthe block, positioning said intakes and shafts throughout the block atsuch intervals as will enable heat generated by setting of the concreteto be conducted thereto, a regulator controlling the openings of saidintakes, and passing a current of air into said intakes and upwardlythrough said shafts to dispel the generated heat.

8. In the methol of casting a seamless block of concrete of such size aswould ordinarily crack or become weakened upon setting in the absence ofheat dispelling means therein,

comprising providing air intakes in the base of the block, providingelongated vertical air shafts in said block in communication with theair intakes and extending therefrom to the top of the block, positioningsaid intakes and shafts throughout the block at such intervals as willenable heat generated by setting of the concrete to be conductedthereto, regulators controllingthe openings of said intakes,

intakes and extending into said intakes and upwardly through said shaftsto dispel the generated heat.

9. In the method of casting a seamless block of concrete of such size aswould ordinarily crack or become weakened upon setting in the absence ofheat dispelling means therein, comprising providing air intakes in thebase of the block, providing elongated metal lined vertical air shaftsin said block in communication with the air intakes and extendingtherefrom to the top of the block, positioning said intakes and shaftsthroughout the block at such intervals as will enable heat generated bysetting of the concrete to be conducted thereto, regulators controllingthe openings of said intakes, and passing a current of air into saidintakes and upwardly through said shafts to dispel the generated heat.

10. In the method of casting a seamless block of concrete of such sizeas would ordinarily crack or become weakened upon setting in the absenceof heat dispelling means therein, comprising providing air intakes inthe base of the block, providing elongated metal lined vertical airshafts in said block in communication with the air intakes and extendingtherefrom to the top of the block, positioning said intakes and shaftsthroughout the block at such intervals as will enable heat generated bysetting of the concrete to be conducted thereto, air cooling devicesoperating in said intakes, regulators controlling the openings of saidintakes, and passing a current of air into said intakes and upwardlythrough said shafts to dispel the generated heat.

HENRY SORENSEN.

and passing a current of air 7

